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<br />OOu346 <br /> <br />DRAFT-Not for distribution <br /> <br />National Wildlife Refuge System to the territorial boundaries of the United States, nor does the <br />statute limit the expenditure of funds to lands or water interests within the United States. An <br />implied limitation may apply, however, in light of the explicit extraterritorial provisions of the <br />North American Wetlands Conservation Act. On the other hand, the 2001 executive order may <br />suggest that the Secretary's authorities under the Migratory Bird Conservation Act could be <br />utilized for objectives stated under the Convention or the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. <br /> <br />The Migratory Bird Conservation Fund is administered by the Department of the <br />Interior.49 Money within the Fund is prospectively appropriated and available within the Fund <br />until spent. After expenses, all moneys within the Fund are available for "the location, <br />ascertainment, and acquisition of suitable areas for migratory bird refuges under the provisions <br />of the Migratory Bird Conservation Act." The Commission is authorized "to consider and pass <br />upon any area of land, water, or land and water that may be recommended by the Secretary of the <br />Interior for purchase or rental under [the MBCA]."sO <br /> <br />Although the foregoing migratory bird agreements and laws do not compel action by the <br />United States in connection with the Colorado River delta, they do provide a framework for <br />bilateral cooperation and possible financial assistance from the United States, as will be noted <br />later in this paper. <br /> <br />b. 1944 Mexican Water Treaty <br /> <br />The 1944 Mexican Water Treaty settled some boundary issues,s 1 provided for a system of <br />international water storage in the Rio Grande system,S2 guaranteed to the United States an annual <br />minimum of water from Mexican tributaries to the Rio Grandes3 and guaranteed to Mexico the <br />annual quantity of 1,500,000 acre feet of Colorado River water.S4 <br /> <br />The Treaty authorized the International Boundary and Water Commission ("IBWC") to <br />oversee, regulate and exercise the rights, obligations and settlement of disputes of the parties. S5 <br />The IBWC, an "international body,,,S6 is comprised of two sections, one a component ofthe U.S. <br />Department of State, the other a component of the Ministry of Foreign Relations of Mexico. 51 <br />IBWC is not an agency ofthe United States or the Republic ofMexico.s8 IBWC decisions are <br />recorded as "minutes" or "actas."S9 Agreements adopted pursuant to the IBWC authority include <br />Minutes 24260 and 261,264,270,273,274,276,279,283,290,291,298,30661 and 307. <br /> <br />The 194-4 Mexican Water Treaty directs the United States to deliver "[a] guaranteed <br />annual ~uantity of 1,500,000 acre-feet" of Colorado River water at the United StatesIMexican <br />border. 6 The United States deliveries to Mexico are specified to occur at different points in <br />different amounts. From 1980 forward, 1,125,000 AFY was to have been deliverable at a main <br />diversion structure in Mexico, except that up to 25,000 AFY (or subject to mutual agreement <br />upon a larger quantity) was deliverable annually on the international border near San Luis, <br />Sonora Another 375,000 AFY was deliverable at the international border via the All-American <br />Canal and a connecting canal to Mexico.63 The actual deliveries at those points, as well as the <br />movements of bypass water and groundwater, are set out in the following table. <br /> <br />5 <br />